It can be easy to dismiss certain warning signs that your computer systems are in trouble. Employees have work to do and just want to get things back to normal and move on with their tasks. Reboot and go. However, these warning signs are indications that something more troubling is on the horizon and should be reported to your IT support services provider.

Sometimes, when signs are caught early enough, measures can be taken to prevent more serious issues such as complete shut downs. Those cost more than a few minutes of lost time during a reboot. They can mean lost productivity and profits over hours and sometimes days.

Here are a few of the issues you might encounter when your computer or server are not functioning as they should. Have employees keep a log and report any of these examples to the IT team.

Much like a heart attack, there are often warning signs before the actual event. Your arm hurts for a few days, you feel a little flu-ish or your back hurts. Computers are the same way in a sense. They usually will let you know when something is wrong. Taking care of it early is the difference between a quick break fix visit and a full replacement of your system. Contact a qualified IT support team like Mustard IT for help with your information technology if any of these issues appear.

Warning 1 – Something you used to be able to do no longer functions

If you were able to use mail merge seamlessly before, but now each attempt is quirky, there could be something serious going on underneath the surface.

Warning 2 – Your computer is sluggish or completely freezes.

This is probably the most obvious sign of a problem and one that employees will look past as they just reboot to “fix” it so they can get back to work.

These are to be expected about once every few months, but if you are receiving them every other day, it is a sign something is missing.

Warning 4 – Too many pop-ups.

Pop-ups can be harmless, or they can also indicate attempts at phishing or virus attacks. Too many pop-ups mean you may have downloaded something that can do serious harm to your computer and the entire network.

Warning 5 – You keep missing emails.

Do you have co-workers telling you “I sent you an email” and you can’t see it? Are people not getting back to you when you send something out? Take a note and report this to IT.

Warning 6 – Your backup process is not clear.

You “think” things are backing up, but you aren’t sure where? Or how? Having a solid backup system is critical to being able to recover data if it is lost. When your backups aren’t working, you’re at a huge risk.

These warning signs can help you indicate to IT when there could be a potential problem. You can obtain and IT support services company to help you get things fixed and then provide preventive services to keep them from happening again.